[ShaileshHinge]

I assume this will impact the Skoda Rapid, And Skoda Superb too right ?
The numbers will be huge as Rapids and Vento have been selling pretty well in last 3-4 years.

Hope the ASS is able to cope up to this volume.

[vinit.merchant]

Doesn't the Skoda Rapid also fall into this purview? And there is no mention of any recall on the Skoda brand by VW. They just mention Vento & Polo.
I believe an equal number of Rapid's (as vento's) would be due for a recall. Infact, Rapid could be more since I see more Petrol Vento's than Petrol Rapid.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Unless VW India is absolutely transparent and clear about these i will think 10 times before giving my car for this

Going by their track record, VW India has among the slowest / laziest bunch of people onboard.

1. It's been ONE MONTH since the scam broke out in the USA. VW India is still clueless? I'd think so as they're still not sharing any useful information.

2. I think we'll probably get the data we want after a year or two . Considering the turtles took over 24 hours the last time for a simple handbrake issue - link.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Official statement from Volkswagen India:

Ah, the art of writing 150 words and yet saying nothing at all in an era of communicating in 140 characters!

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Doesn't the Skoda Rapid also fall into this purview? And there is no mention of any recall on the Skoda brand by VW. They just mention Vento & Polo.
I believe an equal number of Rapid's (as vento's) would be due for a recall. Infact, Rapid could be more since I see more Petrol Vento's than Petrol Rapid.

All of its sub brands are affected.

Engines from this family go into Volkswagen models such as the Polo, Vento, Jetta, Passat, Audi’s A3 sedan and some models in Skoda-branded cars.

Since there is a complex combination of several brands, various models, different engine variants and gearboxes as well as different model years that need to be analysed, establishing detailed facts is taking a longer time

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/Rh...-in-India.html

[imp!]

Hey Vik I agree with a lot of what you are saying, please find my observations as below.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

- German design and engineering is epic and arguably the best in the world. But all this is useless if they are unable to address their customers when need be.

You know, this is very true of the Automobile sector barring some exceptions like Subaru as a manufacturer or cars like the BRZ/FR-S, LFA or GTR in particular. But, I will say this. The Germans are very good, but not infallible. In other industries, there are Indian manufacturers who in terms of quality are every bit as good as the best of their German competitors. As some one working in one such industry, I simply can not understand why companies like Tata are not able or unwilling to launch a premium brand to take the Europeans head on. Considering their ownership of JLR, they may not wish to do so, but there is a lot of scope in the 15-40 lakh bracket that they can exploit without shooting themselves in the foot.
As an aside, Tata automobile procurement practises have isolated them from quality component suppliers in India. This part of their work culture has to change if they are to improve. If an Indian company gave me something comparable to the Germans, I for one would support them by buying their products whole heartedly.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

- Not many other cars quite drive & perform like the German ones. But then again, not many other cars sit it out at the factory during repairs, like the Germans do

- Cheating the market to improve their brand visibility is one thing. Depriving its own loyal customers of their absolute necessity is a complete NO NO !!

- Delivering marvellous machines and unable to pump goods/replaceables into inventory is absolutely unacceptable.

Yes, I have suffered because of this. I bought my Jetta pre-owned. The car needed a bumper change and as part of the deal with the owner, it was to be changed before I took delivery. The bumper wasn't in stock and had to be ordered. This took two weeks. With a little bit of care and planning, problems such as these can and should be avoided.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

- Buying all major German brands out there in the market and yet unable to cater to any of the respective customers experience is an investment that will only crumble.

That is just the thing, what they are able to offer in terms of their product is at-least 1.5-2 generations ahead of most of their Asian competitors. Subaru is one notable exception. Their products may not have the sophistication of the Europeans, but the drive quality is simply superb.
This situation, coupled with VW's political clout in Germany seems to indicate that they'll pull through this crisis and continue business with the standard German Arrogance.

[landcruiser123]

I'm surprised that I'm not seeing Skoda mentioned anywhere. Else, am I missing something?

Well, looking that the monthly sales of vw cars, I'll not be surprises if they are recalling (almost) all their diesel cars. Let the math be aside for now, but this is a severe dent on vw.

The word 'likely' scares me. I just hope this doesn't slowly disappear just like the DSG issue.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Doesn't the Skoda Rapid also fall into this purview? And there is no mention of any recall on the Skoda brand by VW. They just mention Vento & Polo.
I believe an equal number of Rapid's (as vento's) would be due for a recall. Infact, Rapid could be more since I see more Petrol Vento's than Petrol Rapid.

Yes, the Rapid also shares the diesel engine and its only a matter of time before recalls are announced for Skoda cars as well.
As pointed by out by GTO, VW is slow and Skoda is no different than it's parents.

The the good part is that there is no problem or change required in Engine and we would be happily driving our Skoda or VW cars in India as I believe even after removing the cheating software, the cars would meet BS IV norms.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

The the good part is that there is no problem or change required in Engine and we would be happily driving our Skoda or VW cars in India as I believe even after removing the cheating software, the cars would meet BS IV norms.

Me thinks half the owners would not even take the cars to the showroom for a fix. Those outside warranty would totally avoid it.

[rselva]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

The the good part is that there is no problem or change required in Engine and we would be happily driving our Skoda or VW cars in India as I believe even after removing the cheating software, the cars would meet BS IV norms.

EPA test showed NOx levels were up to 35 times higher than EU norms- which is outside the BS IV range, so not sure if just the s/w removal will fix the issue. Why would VW give engines with cheat device in India if it already met the BS IV norms ?

[Whiplash7]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Unless VW India is absolutely transparent and clear about these i will think 10 times before giving my car for this

I'm no legal expert but do we have the right to refuse an OEM recall? Its the OEM's fault to have released such a car to the public and once bought I guess we own the car and should have the right to refuse a recall. I hope VW also has a plan to compensate VW owners sufficiently if the recall is going to degrade performance (most likely will).

[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by Whiplash7

I'm no legal expert but do we have the right to refuse an OEM recall? Its the OEM's fault to have released such a car to the public and once bought I guess we own the car and should have the right to refuse a recall. I hope VW also has a plan to compensate VW owners sufficiently if the recall is going to degrade performance (most likely will).

Even if we refuse to go for the "official recall", the next time whenever we go for servicing when it is connected for vAS scanning the firmware could automatically be updated as it would be detected that the particular VIN has an updated firmware. So the only option will be not to take it to the workshop or physically prevent them from connecting the car for a scan. This maynot be realistic or desirable as there could be other "genuine" updates which will be a necessity and desirable too

I for one am concerned about this issue as my car is up for service next month and i don't want the performance affected in any way as it is the primary reason i went for a vento inspite of the not so great reports on the service and maintenance cost.

The legal route, in India, will be a nightmare.

[kalyan_hyd]

Originally Posted by Whiplash7

I'm no legal expert but do we have the right to refuse an OEM recall? Its the OEM's fault to have released such a car to the public and once bought I guess we own the car and should have the right to refuse a recall. I hope VW also has a plan to compensate VW owners sufficiently if the recall is going to degrade performance (most likely will).

Adding to what Mohan has replied above, one's refusal to send the car for this recall could mean the car could fail emission tests in the subsequent checks and hence not be consider road-worthy/ legal.

[VW2010]

Honestly it wont fail the Indian Emission test. Heck it wont fail the test in texas or florida. Simple reason Texas dont have a diesel emission program and florida does not have an emission program at all.

In india emission certificates are jokes. The road side emission check may not even have equipments to confirm particulates at the level these EPA test have produced.

Few things to consider:-

- Just be patient. The expected outcome is probably years from now to reach the Indian Dealership
- Dont panic for you may not have to do anything till probably next year.
- In case of a recall, the details will be clearly published. Untill then eveyrthing else is just speculations including hardware or software changes.
- For those out of warranty, you may not even need to take the car for the recall for there is no way the country is now suddenly going to invest on something to check a specific levels of Nitrous Oxide and imagine creating the infra structure before you can take your car to get certified. I will give it atleast 2 years optimistically.
- NO is the least pollutant that is going to kill a human in India for we have far more critical problems with respect to pollution.


And considering our country where it takes so much arm twisting and convincing to pass a helmet rule, i am perfectly confident it will years after i sell my car this recall will actually take any concrete effect.

But thats me

[Tanveer_2558]

I am not going to send my car If at all the recall is taken seriously by VW here in India, I have a pretty strong feeling the car won't have the same power output and it is something i can really not compromise on. Unless VW will have a proper clarification on what they would be doing and what would be its effects, Which i doubt they will.

[HotChillyPepper]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

I am not going to send my car If at all the recall is taken seriously by VW here in India, I have a pretty strong feeling the car won't have the same power output and it is something i can really not compromise on. Unless VW will have a proper clarification on what they would be doing and what would be its effects, Which i doubt they will.

Take a written undertaking from them that the power output will not be affected after the rework. After the work you can very well ask for a Dyno test to be done in your presence to confirm. I don't think they can reject this, given the situation they are in.

-HCP